Worldwide utilities generate databases of Furans, which is a group of chemical compounds found dissolved in transformer oil that come only from cellulose degradation. Most transformer experts require the information regarding the levels of Furans in the oil before making a decision with respect to transformer failure, end of life, etc. These compounds were discovered in the early 1980's and since then, have created a great interest at CIGRE, IEEE and major utilities around the globe.
Furans are normally detected after an offline oil sample is taken from the transformer and sent to a chemical lab for processing in a device called a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The oil sample is typically taken when samples are also taken for gas in oil analysis or for standard oil tests.
Thus, there is a need to provide an online sensor for monitoring Furans in a transformer.